Short Summary

Review of international news stories of 1940 from an American perspective.

Description

Review of the year -1940. American / USA version.

Various shots of Paris prior to German invasion. Good shots of Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, tomb of the unknown warrior. Some great shots of cancan dancers at the Folies Bergere. C/U of calendar, page turns to February. Various shots of French army gun emplacements. Various shots of British warships at sea, there are lots of explosions. German bombers fly overhead, good shot plane crashing in sea in flames.

Calendar turns from March to April. Various shots of Royal Navy attack on German held ports in Norway. May. German troops enter bomb ruined Dutch town. German aeroplanes bomb towns in Belgium / Netherlands. Good shots planes dropping from plane and burning buildings. Refugees are seen leaving bombed out town, British troops pass them on road. Burning town. Explosions in fishing harbour. Warships firing guns.

Various shots evacuation of beaches at Dunkirk. June. German aeroplanes bombing France. A blind man wanders through ruins of bombed buildings. Statue of Christ on crucifix. Column of French refugees, including nuns and disabled children, on foot and in horse drawn arts. Maginot Line. French fleet of warships being attacked in Mediterranean - by British to stop German Navy capturing them. Warship is Mers El Kebir, July 3, 1940.

August. Great shot King George VI looking out to sea. Coastal defences. C/Us of youthful RAF crew. Battle of Britain. RAF planes attack convoys with help from coastal defence guns. Good shots of aerial dog fights. Various shots of London Blitz, firemen combat fires after night air raids. C/U of floodlights. Night shots of antiaircraft guns firing. More shots Blitz. Bombed out family climbs over rubble. Cheerful people in underground shelters, some in Aldwych tube station. King and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother) touring bomb sites. Winston Churchill walking through streets with crowds of people cheering

President Franklin D Roosevelt giving speech commending actions of British. Wendell Willkie's presidential campaign. Crowds in Time Square, New York, to hear election results. FDR taking to press having won third term. FDR speech, he talks about Americans being "all for one". Titles over map of USA: "Defend your country". Various shots inside map of USA - army recruits signing up, warships being launched, aircraft factories, aeroplanes, munitions factory, field guns being fired, army, air force and navy on manoeuvres, military parade passing Statue of Liberty and Congress Building in Washington. Title appears over image: "United we stand, divided we fall". Montage is good representation of American strength and might.

Note: a British review of the year also exists. Transferred on *PM1065*.